“We live in the golden age of media, and the only thing constant about media is the rapid pace it keeps changing,” says Manish Bhatia, Global Chief Product Officer for the Media Division at Kantar.
If that’s the case, then what does the future viewing experience look like? That was the subject of a globally delivered webinar presented on Wednesday by the data analytics and media research company.
Bhatia quickly yielded to Richard Marks, who spoke live from Research The Media, an independent research firm hired by Kantar to provide the cleanest findings, if you will.
To provide context, Marks shared an overview of content and delivery predictions. In short, there is a move from public to domestic consumption media, he says. What does that mean? A transition is transpiring that has shifted “right back to a world where people primarily access, rather than own content.”
The big difference than decades ago? It’s content. There’s so much of it.
How, then, does a broadcast media company cut through the clutter while actively competing against popular OTT services?
“Ultimately, the acid test for new TV and technology is not what it is technically possible, but whether or not it actually excites people,” Marks says. “The future viewing experience will be shaped by not what technology brings us.”
Hence, the cornerstone of OTT — intellectual property and franchises — are key to magnetizing consumers, not so much the app itself.
Could oversaturation become a problem, however, in the streaming media universe? Yes, Marks notes, given the global influence and how local and non-English-language content is now scalable. Case in point: Squid Game, in addition to Casa de las Flores, La Casa de Papel (Money Heist) and Dark — all on Netflix.
In the case of “Money Heist,” acquiring the rights from Antena 3 is part of a notable program acquisition to self control of production
NEXTGEN TV? THE GLOBAL TREND IS SMART VIEWING
“The smart TV is going to be the transformative device of the next decade,” Marks says. Penetration has crossed the tipping point [in Europe], with connected TV penetration in Brazil now at critical mass.
This points to the “best possible viewing device,” with a battle for “the main entertainment portal in the home” — the television — on.
Translation: the “smart TV” means promise, and challenges, for U.S. and Jamaican broadcast TV companies looking forward to the rollout of the ATSC 3.0-delivered NEXTGEN TV services.
A caveat, however, to the research presented by Kantar is that the U.S. and Canada were not the focus of Kantar’s presentation, with Brazil and Europe featured for a global audience that included Jordan Terry, the New York-based Manager of Strategy & Financial Analysis for Disney Streaming.
While the challenges may seem daunting for linear TV, they are not unconquerable. Says Marks, “Audiences can still be built from people who are too tired to choose and just want to see what’s on.”
Then, there’s the danger of the “walled garden,” with a two-tier advertising environment leading to more product placement — and dynamic product placement — in addition to native advertising opportunities. In the U.S., Marks says, product placement is very much seen across the content aired on broadcast television. Amazon Video is adding product placement opportunities into scripted shows, and it is becoming addressable — something unfathomable just a few years ago.
Marks concluded his presentation by declaring the 2020s the decade of the smart TV set and how television is actually watched versus what is technically possible and exciting will determine the winners and losers in the TV program delivery marketplace.
Lastly, he finds, “The winners in the platform wars will those that achieve the right blend between linear and VOD.”
That’s great news for broadcast TV station groups and independent owners looking to grow and monetize OTT apps, and with Run3TV a promise tied to ATSC 3.0 rollout, the future indeed looks bright for linear channels as the decade and new tech advancements come forth.
